Fertilizer-distributer for tobacco-planting



(No Mbdel.)

{ J. P. FIRTH.

FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTER FOR TOBACCO PLANTING.

No, 560,850, Patented May '26, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEIcE.

JoHu-F. FIRTH, or CARLISLE, KENTUCKY.

FERTILIZER DI STRIBUTER FOR TOBACCO-PLANTING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters lPatent NO. 560,850, dated May 26,1896. Application filed February 12, 1896. Serial No. 579,011. (Nomodel.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. FIRTH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oarlisle, in the county of Nicholas and State of Kentucky,have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFertilizer-Distributers for Tobacco-Planting, of which the following isva full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to fertilizer-distributers for tobacco-planting;and it consists of a certain novel construction and arrangement of partsherein described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front side view of my machine. Fig. 2 isa central vertical section of same.

A is a cylindrical or tubular reservoir of any convenient size,preferably sufficient to hold two gallons or more of water or liquidfertilizer, and made of tin, galvanized iron,

copper, or any other suitable material. The lower end of this reservoiris cone-shaped and provided with an aperture a at the apex of the cone.Fitting in this aperture is the pointed end Z) of the rod or plunger B,which passes up centrally through the reservoir and through a cross-barc, which connects the upper edges of a cylindrical cap 0, removablyfixed at the upper end of the cylindrical reservoir A. This cap C can beslid outof the reservoir at any time, thus removing the plunger B andall its attachments and leaving the reservoir entirely open for cleaningor otherwise. At the lower end of the plunger B a valve D is mounted,with nuts d and e to hold same on the rod, the rod being screw-threaded,so that the valve is capable of adjustment along the rod to compensatefor wear. The valve,when the plunger is down, bears against the conicalsides of the reservoir and shuts off the ilowof water to the aperture atthe point of the cone.

The upper end of the rod is provided with a coiled spring f, which bearsbetween the cross-piece c and a nut g, adjustable along the rod toregulate the tension of the spring.

The effect of this spring is to keep the rod normally down with thevalve D closed.

The cross-piece c carries a stud 71, upon which is fulcrumed ahand-lever E, the inner end of which is slipped over the rod B and has abearing between the cross-piece c and the nut Z, mounted on the rod.

F and G are handles for the machine, and

by depressing the lever E it will be evident that the rod B will beraised and the valve D opened, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, whilethe moment the hand-lever E is released the spring f will depress therod and close the valve. The nut Zis also adjustable on the rod, so thatthe amount of opening of the valve may be regulated as desired.

H is a gage held by loop on and provided with a series of holes or,while stud 0 in the reservoir A engages any desired one of these holes,and thus the position of the gage is adjusted to correspond to the depthof opening to be made in the ground, the lower end of the gage beingprovided with a right-angled extension 1) for this purpose.

The machine is used in the following manner: The gage is first adjustedto correspond with the character of hole desired to suit the conditionof the plant, and the reservoirA is then filled with water or otherliquid fertilizer. The operator then grasps the handles F and G andinserts the implement in the ground as far as the gage will allow, thepoint b of the plunger preventing any dirt from closing up or cloggingthe aperture in the reservoir. The operator then depresses thehand-lever E and keeps it depressed until the required quantity ofliquid fertilizer has run out, when. by re leasing the lever the valvecloses, shutting off the liquid. The amount of liquid required dependsvery largely on the character of the soil and the condition of theplant. There must be sufficient to properly moisten the ground, but notsuch a quantity as will form a mud-cake to be afterward baked by the sunand weather and thus stifle out the life of the plant.

With my arrangement the operator can deliver the exact quantity neededby operating the hand-leverE as described. Another point to be noticedis that with my arrangement the valve D can be adjusted to compensatefor wear and that the valve and rod can be at once removed for repairswithout in any way damaging or opening up the main reservoir.

Still another feature is the arrangement whereby the hand-lever comesout directly over the handle, so that Without removinghis hand theoperator has complete control of the valve and no independent operationis necessar l laving thus described myinvention, what I claim, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, isp 1. A fertilizer-distributer,comprising a cylindrical or tubular reservoir having a conical ortapering end, a cap with a cross-bar fitting in the upper end of thereservoir, a plunger Within the reservoir and passingthrough thecross-bar, a valve on the plunger located in the tapering end, nuts oneither side of the valve for adjusting the same, a lever embracing theupper end of the plunger, a pin on the cap to which the lever isfulcrumed, a nut on the plunger to be engaged by the lever to Vary theextent of movement of the plunger, and a spring to return the plunger tothe closed position, substantially as shown and described.

2. A fert-ilizerdistributer, comprising a cylindrical or tubularreservoir having a conical or tapering end, a cap With a cross-barfitting in the upper end of the reservoir, a plunger Within thereservoir and passing through the cross-bar, a valve on the plungerlocated in the tapering end, nuts on either side of the valve foradjusting the same, a lever embracing the upper end of the plunger, apin on the cap to which the lever is fulcrumed, a nut on the plunger tobe engaged by the lever to vary the extent of movement of the plunger, aspring to return the plunger to the closed position, and a gageconsisting of a strip having its lower end bent laterally and providedat its upper end with a series of holes, and a pin on the reservoir toengage the holes, substantially as shown and-described.

J OIIN F. FIRTH. Vitnesses:

J OHN J. KING, WILLIAM DINSMORE, H. W. HALL.

